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Study: Online Social Influence Has the Strongest Effect On Voting Behavior

Posted by samzenpus on from the I-like-what-the-people-I-talk-to-like dept.

sciencehabit writes "Brace yourself for a tidal wave of Facebook campaigning before November's U.S. presidential election. A study of 61 million Facebook users finds that using online social networks to urge people to vote has a much stronger effect on their voting behavior than spamming them with information via television ads or phone calls."

11 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. For now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's only because a lot of people haven't yet become as adept at ignoring the adds on social media platforms as they already are on TV and print mediums. This noted effectiveness will wear off as more and more people get used to ignoring a new form of advertising.

  2. and tomorrow by cultiv8 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The (insert latest social/consumption trend here) influences voting behavior more than (insert declining fad here).

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  3. It's not just for now. by mosb1000 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're talking about ads, but your friend might recommend something to you, and if it's someone you know or trust you are a lot more likely to look at it. And that's something that's probably never going to change. Gossiping would go away before that would.

    1. Re:It's not just for now. by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hmm.....sounds to me like yet another reason not to join Facebook.....

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    2. Re:It's not just for now. by skiflyer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, that's the version I heard when driving home.

      It still seems to me to have a big flaw, namely the assumption of causation. Social networks with messages like this are a self selecting group, how do they know that those with friends who voted aren't just in more politically savvy peer groups?

      Now if they would have randomly lied to people about whether or not their friends had voted I could see some determination of causation, but as it was done I think the above is at least one potential flaw.

  4. The internet routes around damage. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Pff. The advantage of television (To the political BSers) is that it's a one-way, unmodifiable medium where you can make a statement without being refuted.
    On the internet you're closer to verification and cross-references that can counter the shallow lies.

    So, who's up for making a browser addon that automatically cross-references online political ads to various fact checking sites?
    Then maybe overlays a nice helpful graph or color to tell you how much BS you're being fed. ..Or just get adblock+ and opt out of it all.

    1. Re:The internet routes around damage. by readin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So, who's up for making a browser addon that automatically cross-references online political ads to various fact checking sites?

      But since ad-checking sites have their agenda too, we'd need another app to cross-reference the fact checking sites to fact checking site verfication sites...

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      I often don't like the choices people make, but I like the fact that people make choices. That's why I'm a conservative.
  5. Online Social Influence ... by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    .... is effective on the unwashed

    For those who are seasoned and thick-skinned, we have developed the habit of using our brain, instead of letting others to think for us
     

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    1. Re:Online Social Influence ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you are in the habit of using your brain, why do you not know that much of your decision making process isn't even conscious?

  6. What's a television ad? by gubon13 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Seriously though, doesn't everyone have a DVR?

  7. This just in by jxander · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Breaking news: Facebook users find Facebook to be the most effective means of influencing them.

    Film at 11

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